With England being docked two points for slow over rate deduction during their thrilling win at Lord’s, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said the Ben Stokes-led side can make up for their points deduction if their focus remains on winning matches.

On Wednesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said two points have been cut from England’s World Test Championship (WTC) tally and have been fined 10 per cent of their match fee. Subsequently, England's tally in the WTC standings has dropped from 24 to 22 out of 36 points, with their points percentage going from 66.67 per cent to 61.11 per cent.

As a result, England has slipped from second to third position in the WTC points table, with Sri Lanka now overtaking them to claim the second spot, and be just behind table toppers Australia.

Indians consume salt 2.2 times more than the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), posing severe health risks such as hypertension, strokes, and kidney disease, among others, according to ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology.

WHO recommends less than 5 grams per day of salt (roughly under a teaspoon) or below 2g of sodium per day.

However, “the mean salt consumption per day by an Indian is 11 grams per day, which is 2.2 times more than the WHO recommendation”, the ICMR-NIE said.

According to the apex research body, regular iodised salt contains 40 per cent of sodium, much higher than the WHO limit. The WHO also suggests the use of low-sodium salt to ward off the risk.

The cyber cell of Delhi Police nabbed a stalker from Maharashtra on Wednesday, for harassing and defaming a woman by posting her photographs with offensive comments on social media platforms and also writing her phone numbers on public places, including toilet walls.

The accused, identified as Yasin Sheikh, was nabbed from Pune, based on the complaint of a 38-year-old woman at North District police station.

According to the victim, the accused was harassing and torturing her by uploading her pictures on social media and writing derogatory comments.

She also claimed that the accused took out her mobile number from her Instagram account and inscribed it at various public places, including the walls of toilets, railway platforms in Pune.

She also alleged that the accused was creating multiple Instagram accounts with her name and uploading videos with her mobile number, along with derogatory remarks like "Call girl service".

The board of directors of State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday approved a proposal to raise funds worth Rs 20,000 crore through the issuance of bonds to domestic investors in the current financial year (FY26).

In a regulatory filing, India's largest lender confirmed that its Central Board approved the raising of up to Rs 20,000 crore during the current financial year through "Basel III-compliant Additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 bonds". These bonds will be issued in Indian rupees to domestic investors, subject to government approvals where necessary.

The move is aimed at strengthening the capital base of the country’s largest bank.

After the announcement of the fundraiser, SBI shares shot up over 2 per cent to touch an intra-day high of Rs 834 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

India’s festive season this year is set to generate over 2.16 lakh seasonal jobs, reflecting a 15–20 per cent year-on-year rise in gig and temporary employment during the second half of 2025, a report said on Wednesday.

Key sectors driving this surge include retail, e-commerce, BFSI, logistics, hospitality, travel, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).

Hiring activity has gained momentum in anticipation of marquee events such as Raksha Bandhan, Big Billion Days, Prime Day Sale, Dussehra, Diwali, and the wedding season, Adecco India, an HR service provider, said in its report.

Many companies are advancing their hiring cycles to stay ahead of demand and ensure operational readiness for what is expected to be a stronger-than-usual festive period.

The green warehousing sector in India is poised for exponential growth, with certified sustainable warehouse space expected to quadruple from current levels to approximately 270 million sq. ft by 2030, according to a report released by global real estate services company JLL on Wednesday.

Since 2019, Grade A warehousing stock across India's major cities has expanded dramatically, growing 2.5 times from 88 million sq. ft to an impressive 238 million sq. ft by 2024. This growth reflects the increasing demand for high-quality storage and distribution facilities as the country's economy modernises, and e-commerce continues its rapid expansion, the report said.

More striking is the rise of institutional-grade warehousing space, which has tripled from 28 million sq. ft in 2019 to 90 million sq. ft by end of 2024. This surge demonstrates the growing confidence of major global investors who are bringing international sustainability standards to the Indian market, according to the report.

Hearing loss combined with the feelings of loneliness accelerates cognitive decline, leading to dementia in older adults, according to a study.

Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland showed that isolation, communication difficulties, reduced alertness, and hearing impairment or loss are a real challenge in daily life.

The findings, published in the journal Communications Psychology, showed that hearing loss accelerates cognitive decline, particularly among individuals who feel lonely, regardless of whether they are socially isolated.

‘‘We found that people who were not socially isolated but who felt lonely saw their cognitive decline accelerate when they were deaf,’’ said Matthias Kliegel, professor in the Cognitive Ageing Laboratory in UNIGE.

Officials from Laos and Cambodia gathered in Vientiane for the first Laos-Cambodia Prosecutors' Office Meeting on Cooperation in Combating Transnational Crime, with a particular focus on drug trafficking.

The meeting took place on Tuesday and brought together senior prosecutors from both countries to deepen cooperation, reports, quoting Lao News Agency.

In his speech, President of the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office of Laos, Xaysana Khotphouthone, said that the meeting marked a significant milestone in strengthening bilateral judicial cooperation, noting that it reflects the deepening strategic partnership between the two nations and aims to reinforce collaboration in criminal prosecution, particularly in the fight against transnational and drug-related crimes.

Xaysana highlighted that the drug crisis has severely impacted all sectors of Lao society, from students and youth to rural communities, and warned that if left unaddressed, it could become a root cause of various crimes and a serious threat to national stability.

Nifty is expected to reach 26,889 by December this year, driven by a multi-faceted recovery in domestic demand, supportive monetary policies and focused fiscal initiatives, a report stated on Wednesday.

Reflecting the positive sentiment, “we have raised Nifty 12-month target to 26,889, valuing the Nifty at 2.5 per cent discount to 15-year average PE at 18.5x," PL Capital, a financial services provider, said in its report.

Domestically-oriented sectors, such as domestic pharma, select staples, banks, capital goods, defence, and power, will outperform in the near term.

“In the first quarter, government capital expenditure was front-loaded, recording impressive growth of 61 per cent in April and 39 per cent in May, supported by strong momentum in new project orders and a significant increase in defence spending," the report said.

The India pharma market (IPM) grew at a strong rate of 11.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in June, due to a surge in acute therapies, according to a new report on Wednesday.

In comparison, in June last year, the IPM recorded 7 per cent growth. In May 2025, the pharma market grew 6.9 per cent, revealed the monthly report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

It noted that the latest growth was driven by a strong show in segments such as respiratory, cardiac, central nervous system (CNS), and pain therapies, which outperformed IPM in June.

Acute therapy growth stood at 11 per cent in June (vs. 7 per cent in June 2024 and 5 per cent in May 2025) owing to seasonality. Notably, anti-infectives showed considerable recovery in YoY growth in June vs prior months.